Thailand’s PM orders military conscription postponed until July or August

March 27, 2020

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The Thai Ministry of Defence has decided to postpone this year’s round of military conscription, scheduled to take place from April 1st to 12th, by as much as three months, due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19.

The postponement was ordered by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, in his dual capacity as the country’s defence minister.

Under the order, all Thai men, who are 21 years old and who have received official notification to report for conscription, will not be granted any additional time after this 3-month postponement.

Conscription in Thailand is traditionally done by drawing lots of black or red. Red means conscription and those who draw black avoid involuntary military service.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister, as head of the COVID-19 Situation Management Centre, today signed a ministerial order for its reorganization.

Under the new structure, the command centre will have a secretary-general’s office, to be headed by the deputy secretary-general for politics at the PM’s Office, a coordination office, to be headed by the secretary-general of the National Security Command, and other eight centres.

These will be the operation centre for medical emergencies, the operation centre for prevention and public assistance, the centre for the distribution of face masks and medicines, the centre for product price control, the centre for travel control, an operations centre for telecommunications and social media, the centre for security affairs and an information operations centre.

All eight centres and two offices will report directly to the Prime Minister.